President Obama took the unusual step of issuing a statement saying Susan Rice, the embattled U.S. ambassador to the U.N., had withdrawn herself from consideration to be secretary of state. This tells us that the White House remains deeply worried about the Libya scandal. Read more…

U.S. missile experts have noted the success of North Korea’s satellite launch late Tuesday, but the Pentagon has said it is still assessing the event to determine whether it was indeed a success. The Pentagon’s hesitance has piqued the curiosity of some experts. Read more…